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The skies are looking bleaker for those who like to enliven dull plane trips with a bit of internet porn - Delta Airlines has announced it intends to filter "inappropriate" websites on its planned airborne Wi-Fi service.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Delta had said it "planned to rely on flight attendants to handle inappropriate situations". However, it's now decided to scrub that idea, and is "working with Wi-Fi provider Aircell to use a system to block inappropriate content".

Delta spokesman Kent Landers said: “Blocking will be limited in scope and will be for sites that few, if any, would question are inappropriate to be viewed on an aircraft. Our focus is to achieve a balanced approach.”

Delta's original scheme was in line with that of American Airlines, which in August fired up broadband internet access across its Boeing 767-200 fleet for $12.95 a flight. The company said it preferred to "provide unfiltered connections - such as those found at the average home or office - and have flight crews monitor internet usage for inappropriate material".

This prompted the US Association of Professional Flight Attendants to demand the airline's management "install filtering software to block inappropriate sites, following complaints from flight attendants and passengers".

Shortly thereafter, Qantas apparently got the smut jitters and said that, instead of the promised live net access on its A380 fleet, punters would have to make do with "cached internet content" and access to web-based email and chat.

A Qantas spokeswoman attributed the paring to "logistical and regulatory issues" encountered by ISP OnAir. What customers will get when the airline's first superjumbo enters service on 20 October is "100 movies, 500 television show episodes, 1000 audio CDs, 20 radio channels and 80 games". Bah. ®